Daphne Du Maurier is the kind of writer who may never disappoint you. I read Rebecca few days ago & I would just share 2 excerpts from the book:
“It seemed incredible to me now that I had never understood. I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, & continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness & reserve, & in their blindness & folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth. This was what I had done. I had built up false pictures in my mind & sat before them. I had never had the courage to demand the truth.”
I guess this happens to most of us. We have a bad habit of presuming & those of us who have the courage to demand the truth, they get insulted badly. Seeking truth is one thing & finding out the real story is another thing.
I basically like these lines:
“And if you had my memories you would not want to go there either, or talk about it, or even think about it. There. You can digest that if you like, & I hope it satisfies you.”
Rebecca is, by all means, a very interesting book. You will keep turning pages without any problem whatsoever. The atmosphere of suspense is brilliant. But the plot is not out of this world. This is a story about a woman who marries a widower. You can call it a sinister tale. And critics say that it could be compared to Jane Eyre. Now I think Jane Eyre is the book which is highly recommended by the mediocrities. I find Rebecca much better than Jane Eyre, because the reflection is imperfect & you don’t have the urge to puke on the 2nd page. That’s how I felt while reading Jane Eyre actually.
However, I really don’t like the end. There was no need to burn down Manderley. One of the characters is dead & the other one who is alive is dull, drab & dry, & of course quite nameless throughout the novel. Only once in the book the name of Mrs. Max de Winter is mentioned. Rebecca was the 1st wife & she was really mean, vicious, devilish & vengeful woman. In fact they use the word promiscuous for her as there have been indications in the book that she was not just sleeping with men but she was also bisexual. Basically she wasn’t a very great human but she knew how to deceive the world. The 2nd wife was totally her opposite. She was way too obedient & that can be annoying at times. She even supports her husband when she discovers that he is the one who has killed Rebecca. Which is commendable but all of it seems very filmy. What I find irritating is her unquestioning subservience to her husband. But somehow I like the character of Maxim more than Rebecca & Caroline. His statements had weight.
Rebecca is regarded as a very fascinating character. However, I don’t find her that fascinating. Heathcliff, Hedda Gabler & Dorian Gray are three extremely vile characters in Literature & they are not just fascinating, they have this aura of charm that you can never forget if you have read these books. Hedda Gabler is a thorough mean woman & she didn’t have any problem in stooping down to any level. You will be just amazed at her meanness in the play. Dorian Gray is just too sexy & we love him for telling us the difference between pleasure & happiness. Mostly people confuse the two with each other. About Heathcliff, I would just say that he may have 101 faults & he was indeed a very ghoulish character but his love for Catherine was one thing that stands out. When it came to Catherine, he didn’t see anything at all. That’s how every guy in love ought to be.
In fact Rosie who used to sleep with just about anyone she liked in Cakes & Ale has more charm even though she’s constant & commonplace. Throughout the novel, she was considered promiscuous as well but one doesn’t give a damn to it as she is a nice person. Even Richard in The Devil’s Disciple is more charming but he wasn’t all that devilish as he was painted. As compared to all of them, I don’t find Rebecca that fascinating or interesting. However, you won’t get bored while reading this book. Some of the lines are extremely beautiful & meaningful.
Daphne Du Maurier has never been my mentor but she’s definitely a good writer. Unlike some idiots, I never have any problem with the fact that Daphne had too many affairs with men & just 1 affair with a woman even before she was 21. We, as readers, have the right to judge the work of art but a writer’s personal life is not our concern. But I think her lesbianism kind of bothered her & you could feel it in her writings. Just how D. H. Lawrence was bothered by one incident & we could feel anxiety in his writings. Anyhow, I’ve always enjoyed reading Daphne Du Maurier.
“It seemed incredible to me now that I had never understood. I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, & continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness & reserve, & in their blindness & folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth. This was what I had done. I had built up false pictures in my mind & sat before them. I had never had the courage to demand the truth.”
I guess this happens to most of us. We have a bad habit of presuming & those of us who have the courage to demand the truth, they get insulted badly. Seeking truth is one thing & finding out the real story is another thing.
I basically like these lines:
“And if you had my memories you would not want to go there either, or talk about it, or even think about it. There. You can digest that if you like, & I hope it satisfies you.”
Rebecca is, by all means, a very interesting book. You will keep turning pages without any problem whatsoever. The atmosphere of suspense is brilliant. But the plot is not out of this world. This is a story about a woman who marries a widower. You can call it a sinister tale. And critics say that it could be compared to Jane Eyre. Now I think Jane Eyre is the book which is highly recommended by the mediocrities. I find Rebecca much better than Jane Eyre, because the reflection is imperfect & you don’t have the urge to puke on the 2nd page. That’s how I felt while reading Jane Eyre actually.
However, I really don’t like the end. There was no need to burn down Manderley. One of the characters is dead & the other one who is alive is dull, drab & dry, & of course quite nameless throughout the novel. Only once in the book the name of Mrs. Max de Winter is mentioned. Rebecca was the 1st wife & she was really mean, vicious, devilish & vengeful woman. In fact they use the word promiscuous for her as there have been indications in the book that she was not just sleeping with men but she was also bisexual. Basically she wasn’t a very great human but she knew how to deceive the world. The 2nd wife was totally her opposite. She was way too obedient & that can be annoying at times. She even supports her husband when she discovers that he is the one who has killed Rebecca. Which is commendable but all of it seems very filmy. What I find irritating is her unquestioning subservience to her husband. But somehow I like the character of Maxim more than Rebecca & Caroline. His statements had weight.
Rebecca is regarded as a very fascinating character. However, I don’t find her that fascinating. Heathcliff, Hedda Gabler & Dorian Gray are three extremely vile characters in Literature & they are not just fascinating, they have this aura of charm that you can never forget if you have read these books. Hedda Gabler is a thorough mean woman & she didn’t have any problem in stooping down to any level. You will be just amazed at her meanness in the play. Dorian Gray is just too sexy & we love him for telling us the difference between pleasure & happiness. Mostly people confuse the two with each other. About Heathcliff, I would just say that he may have 101 faults & he was indeed a very ghoulish character but his love for Catherine was one thing that stands out. When it came to Catherine, he didn’t see anything at all. That’s how every guy in love ought to be.
In fact Rosie who used to sleep with just about anyone she liked in Cakes & Ale has more charm even though she’s constant & commonplace. Throughout the novel, she was considered promiscuous as well but one doesn’t give a damn to it as she is a nice person. Even Richard in The Devil’s Disciple is more charming but he wasn’t all that devilish as he was painted. As compared to all of them, I don’t find Rebecca that fascinating or interesting. However, you won’t get bored while reading this book. Some of the lines are extremely beautiful & meaningful.
Daphne Du Maurier has never been my mentor but she’s definitely a good writer. Unlike some idiots, I never have any problem with the fact that Daphne had too many affairs with men & just 1 affair with a woman even before she was 21. We, as readers, have the right to judge the work of art but a writer’s personal life is not our concern. But I think her lesbianism kind of bothered her & you could feel it in her writings. Just how D. H. Lawrence was bothered by one incident & we could feel anxiety in his writings. Anyhow, I’ve always enjoyed reading Daphne Du Maurier.
